Rookie Hester getting a kick out of temporary switch to fullback

Dennis Franchione, whom sources have said is one of the finalists for the SDSU job, received a vote of confidence from someone not associated with SDSU – LaDainian Tomlinson, who played for Franchione at TCU.

“He was good for me and good for the TCU program,” Tomlinson said. “We won a whole bunch of games. We went to three straight bowl games. If San Diego State decides to hire him, I think they'll be pretty pleased with the coach they're going to get.”

Asked if he had talked to Franchione, Tomlinson said, “I'd rather not say.”

USELESS TRENDS

The Chargers rushed for a season-high 158 yards Thursday against Oakland, which brings this interesting but likely meaningless statistical tidbit (from killersports.com) into play for the first time this season:

The Chargers are 10-0 since Sept. 17, 2006, the week after a game in which they had at least 150 yards rushing.

The Web site also points out that the Chiefs are 8-0 since Nov. 16, 1997, at home when facing a team they lost to in their first meeting of the season.

Does any of that mean anything? Probably not.

Not from killersports.com: The only victory the Chiefs or Chargers have since their Nov. 9 meeting was against the Raiders.

– Former Charger Donnie Edwards, in his second season back with the Chiefs, has missed the past three games with knee and hamstring injuries. He was limited in practice Wednesday but is expected to play Sunday.

– The Chargers have won 10 straight December games, a streak they'd obviously like to keep alive even if their playoff chances are miniscule. Said Tomlinson: “We want to keep it that way. It seems like we do always play our best ball in December. ... I don't think we have the type of guys on this team that pack it in and quit. We're going to continue to fight until the end.”